Both low cholesterol levels and declining cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of death from suicide in men

This study was published in the British Medical Journal 1996 Sep 14;313(7058):649-51

Study title and authors:
Serum cholesterol concentration and death from suicide in men: Paris prospective study I.

Zureik M, Courbon D, Ducimetière P.
National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Unit 258, Hôpital Broussais, Paris, France.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8811757

The aim of the study was to investigate whether low cholesterol levels or changing cholesterol levels are associated with the risk of suicide in men.

The study contained 6,393 working men, aged 43-52, who had at least three measurements of their cholesterol levels over a 17 year period.

The study found:
(a) Men with low cholesterol (below 4.78 mmol/l (185 mg/dL)) had a 216% increase in suicide compared with men whose cholesterol was between 4.78-6.21 mmol/l (185-240mg/dL).
(b) Men whose cholesterol levels decreased by more than 0.13 mmol/l (5 mg/dL) a year had an 117% increase in suicide compared with men whose cholesterol remained stable.

To conclude: Both low cholesterol levels and declining cholesterol levels were associated with increased risk of death from suicide in men.